Popularization, Diversity, and Science - High Quality Development of National Fitness Ongoing Sports | Fitness | Ongoing

Fuzhou, June 10th (Xinhua) - In the scorching summer, fitness has become a hot topic.

Watering dreams with sweat, national fitness is leading the Chinese people to run on the path of pursuing a better life.

On June 10, 1952, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote an inscription "Developing Sports and Enhancing People's Physical Fitness". 71 years later, today, fitness facilities are becoming more popular, fitness activities are becoming more diverse, and fitness methods are becoming more scientific. The nationwide fitness craze is sweeping across the land of China.

The hardware facilities for national fitness continue to upgrade

With the development of the economy and society, the national fitness facilities have undergone multiple gear shifts and upgrades in both quantity and quality. Across the country, convenient and beneficial "15 minute fitness circles" and "10 minute fitness circles" are gradually being built, laying the foundation for the further development of national fitness activities.

With the help of the 14th National Games Planning Office, Shaanxi has built a large number of national sports projects to benefit the people, greatly improving the public service level of fitness facilities for all. In Hangzhou, taking the Asian Games as an opportunity, a number of sports venues are seamlessly integrated into the urban living circle, and the "leftover materials" of urban space are becoming the "golden corners and silver edges" of national fitness.

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, citizens play basketball at the Qianjiang Century City Sports Park located under the high-speed railway bridge. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

On the east bank of the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal, on a waterfront greenway shaded by greenery, citizens in groups of three or two, holding basketballs, gradually enter the No. 7 Gongfu Stadium of the Genshan Canal. "The environment here is very good, and I come to exercise two or three times a week," said Zhou Zhongyue, a Hangzhou resident living in a nearby community.

In Fuzhou, Fujian Province, the previously single functional Xihe Swimming Pool has been upgraded and transformed into Xihe Smart Sports Park. Now, citizens can not only swim here, but also engage in sports such as basketball, football, tennis, and small wheeling. In addition, the park is equipped with a batch of intelligent fitness equipment, physical fitness monitoring devices, intelligent fitness stations and other smart sports facilities and equipment.

The picture shows the smart runway, smart fitness equipment, and fitness stations in Xihe Smart Sports Park, Gulou District, Fuzhou City. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Shan

According to relevant statistical data in 2021, there are a total of 3.971 million sports venues in China, with a sports venue area of 3.41 billion square meters and a per capita sports venue area of 2.41 square meters.

In 2023, the "Action Plan for Upgrading National Fitness Facilities" was issued, and the "Action Plan for Upgrading National Fitness Facilities" was officially launched. There is an increasingly clear answer to the question of where the masses go for fitness.

National fitness events and activities are flourishing

With the support of increasingly rich hardware conditions, national fitness activities have been carried out more widely, from urban citizen sports games to rural "village super" leagues.

In April of this year, the Liaoning Provincial Sports Bureau launched three national fitness activities: the "Run Across Liaoning" marathon series, the "Ride Across Liaoning" one trip one race, and the "Find Liaoning" urban challenge. Zhang Yuehong, Deputy Director of the Liaoning Provincial Sports Bureau, introduced that according to preliminary statistics, Liaoning Province will carry out more than 3000 types of national fitness activities in 2023.

In Baoji, Shaanxi, the 4th Shaanxi Provincial National Fitness Games entered counties, communities, factories, scenic areas, and neighborhoods, fully embodying the principles and concepts of convenient, friendly, beneficial, and for the people, and effectively bringing the National Fitness Games to the people.

In rural areas, national fitness activities have also ushered in new developments. Based on the booming village level basketball games across the country, in June this year, the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Office of the General Administration of Sport of China issued a notice to organize the National United States Rural Basketball Competition. This competition is held nationwide, adding a touch of agricultural flavor to basketball. In Guizhou, the Rongjiang Hemei Rural Football Super League, known as the "Village Super League", attracts tens of thousands of spectators every game, with a maximum of over 50000 people in one game, many of whom are also self driving tourists from outside the province.

On March 25th this year, villagers watched a warm-up match before the final of the first "Beautiful Countryside" basketball league in Guizhou Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Zhuang

"The widespread promotion of national fitness activities must be carried out at the grassroots level, and should be led by holding community sports games, national fitness conferences, and theme demonstration activities to drive and promote the development of national fitness. The Group Department will continue to support the development of grassroots sports events such as community sports games, and promote mass sports activities to truly reach the people, making it convenient, beneficial, and laying a solid foundation for national fitness," said Ding Dong, Director of the Group Department of the General Administration of Sport of China.

The scientific concept of national fitness has deeply rooted in people's hearts

With the deepening of national fitness activities, scientific fitness is becoming a consensus among more and more fitness enthusiasts.

Xiao Jinliao, a runner born in 1985, is the head of the Fuzhou Black Eagle Road Wild Club, which has over 1100 members. "Scientific fitness" is the concept he emphasizes in the club. "There is no shortcut to exercise, it must be done step by step. Before running, you need to warm up dynamically, and after running, you need to stretch statically. It must be accumulated over time," said Xiao Jinliao.

From correcting running posture to regulating heart rate, Black Eagle Road Wild Club has a complete "8-week training plan", and the running team has a professional coach who can help running enthusiasts achieve the level of being able to try long-distance city road running and mountain cross-country races through scientific training. "There is love in the heart, strength under the feet, and the ultimate goal of running is to have a healthy body and a better life," said Xiao Jinliao.

In order to support national fitness, the sports department of Ningbo City launched the "One Person, One Skill" public welfare training activity for national fitness sports skills for the first time in 2018, aiming to cultivate citizens' interest in sports and fitness, and provide scientific fitness guidance for citizens. It has now become the most influential fitness public welfare brand in Ningbo.

The picture is a screenshot of a short video from the "Qin Fitness" scientific fitness integrated media action

Starting from July last year, the Shaanxi Provincial Sports Bureau organized the "Qin Fitness" scientific fitness integrated media action, inviting more than 20 experts and scholars from sports colleges to provide scientific fitness methods, and also found multiple fitness experts to shoot short videos of scientific fitness methods and distribute them through multiple channels.

Ding Dong said, "We hope to see more people join the scientific fitness exercise team. Through the masses, we can drive, organize, and guide the masses, making national fitness a trend."